Challenging Brussels has become the political hobby of the day. It has become a big boys’ affair, but Central and Eastern Europe was assigned the role of a "fighting brand" designed to keep pressure on those who wish to stay with the European status quo.

The battle lines are already drawn and it is getting worse – the US administration and European leaders are permanently expanding the list of contentious issues. Most of the countries in the Central and Eastern European region have been trying to avoid taking sides openly in the dispute, although it has been an increasingly difficult game. After all, until not long ago EU and NATO expansion were processes progressing almost simultaneously, and the transatlantic links were rather an enabler. Are the transatlantic controversies going to impact the business climate in the region?

Most of my FB friends are frustrated and angered. They went again to the protests, fulfilling their obligations of citizens, but yesterday’s protests seem again futile, as politicians in power did not listen to them. The bad news is that there is no easy solution. A systemic setup resulted from Romania's fast integration into EU and NATO, prevents a quick fix.